Smokis Dance at Dusk

When dusk steals gently over the hills of Yavapai the first Sunday evening of August, the sound of throbbing Indian tom-toms greets oncoming night with notice that the Smoki People of Prescott are beginning their annual ceremonials.

Buried in the anonymity of Indian ceremonial costumes, business and professional men and women of Prescott lose their identity and shed their personality of the White Man in faithful interpretations of age-old dances of their Indian neighbors.

The 20th annual Smoki Ceremonials and Snake Dance will be held the evening of August 4 at the Fairgrounds at Prescott. The fame of the Smoki People has spread far beyond the borders of Yavapai during the past two decades, and vast is the concourse of visitors to their annual presentation.

The Smoki People formed their organization through the desire to perpetuate the rituals, rites and folklore of the Indians of the Southwest. The founders of the Tribe and their followers in the Smoki tradition must have a zeal for Indian knowledge and an affection for the Indian peoples. Only 12 members are voted into the Smoki Tribe each year and each member must learn the dances and ceremonies of the Tribe, faithfully attend meetings of the Smoki People, and otherwise indicate proper fidelity to the precepts of his fellow Smokis.

To become a chief of the Smoki People, the initiate must work for a period of years through various rankings. Only by merit does a Smoki ever become chief of his People.

Ranking in importance to the Snake and the Katchina Dance of the Smoki People is the Eagle Dance, an unusually beautiful presentation. In this the picked dancers of the Smoki People attempt to convey the cunning, versatility, power and stamina of the Eagle.

Dances presented by the Smokis are the result of study, research and pains taking practice. A symbolical message is offered in each dance and each cere mony has a significance.

Only once in the history of the Smoki People have their ceremonies and dances ever been given outside the confines of their native Yavapai hills. That was during the American Legion convention at the Sesquicentennial Ex position in Philadelphia.

The Smoki Museum in Prescott has been built by the Tribe as a repository of Indian artifacts and literature pertain ing to the Indians of the Southwest. The Museum is open to the public.

The Snake Dance is one of the most dramatic rites presented by the Smoki People. A man who in real life carries the mail is quite a different figure in Indian dress dancing with twisting, coiling reptiles in his hands and about his person. The dances and ceremonials of the Smoki People represent preparations that will last for months. To dance in the Snake Dance is a high honor for the Smoki and one that is not to be taken lightly. To the Smokis, the snakes are “little brothers” to be treated reverently and with profound respect. The Smoki People are very sincere in their ceremonials and rituals and each member of the Tribe plays his or her part both with emotion and sincerity.⚫